Written Answers Thursday 28 April 2005

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any changes to the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure are planned and, if so, whether it will provide details and the likely timescale for such changes.

Ross Finnie: The EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure has been in operation since November 2000 and I have no plans to make any changes to the structure of the procedure itself. In March this year, the legislation was amended to extend coverage of the procedure to the new Single Farm Payment Scheme and Scottish Beef Calf Scheme. The extension of the procedure to the Land Management Contracts Menu Scheme should take place shortly.

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals were (a) lodged with the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure in each year since it was adopted and (b) successful in each year following the (i) internal and (ii) external review, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of appeals.

Ross Finnie: The information requested is set out in the following tables. In stage 2 appeals the external panel make a recommendation to me with its findings.

  Number of Appeals Lodged:

  

 
Stage 1
Stage 2


2000
 17
 0


2001*
 84
 16


2002*
 271
 32


2003
 252
 45


2004
 120
 5


2005
 116
 0



  Note: *Coverage of Agri Environment Schemes was added in June 2001. Figures in 2001 were low due to foot-and-mouth disease. This resulted in an upsurge in 2002.

  The Number of Appeals Upheld By Panel and as a Percentage of the Number Determined

  

 
Internal
External


2000
 0
 0


2001
 12 (21%)
 1 (16%)


2002
 18 (15%)
 5 (35%)


2003
 15 (10%)
 0


2004
 4 ( 2%)
 2 ( 8%)



  Note: Determination may not have taken place the same year as the appeal was received.

  In addition, some appeals have been resolved outwith the panel setting.

  Stage 3 (Scottish Land Court Hearings Lodged)

  2003: 3

  2004: 2

  2005: 2.

  Decisions not yet taken for these cases, with the exception of one case settled out of court.

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any analysis into appeals lodged through the agricultural subsidies appeals procedure has been carried out and, if so, what the findings were.

Ross Finnie: My officials record and monitor appeals lodged by scheme, scheme issues (e.g. livestock record keeping) and the grounds of appeal. They also monitor appeal outcomes. This information allows them to determine whether any changes are required to our scheme management and administrative procedures or to the appeals procedure.

  The procedure has to date not identified any serious shortcomings in our systems, although at times backlogs of appeals have built up and it has taken us longer to process cases than we would like.

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any economic impact assessment of the impact of rising fuel costs on the agriculture sector has been carried out, or is under way, and, if so, whether it will provide details of the findings.

Ross Finnie: Whilst the agriculture sector benefits from reduced duty on red diesel, worth over 40 pence per litre compared to most other industries and private motorists, the Executive is aware of the issues surrounding the rising cost of fuel, as it impacts on both the price paid for diesel by farmers and the transportation costs of their suppliers and customers. However, given that fuel costs affect all sectors of the economy and are determined by factors outwith Scotland, more detailed analysis of specific sectoral impacts has not been undertaken.

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that its Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s information systems are compatible with those of the British Cattle Movement Service.

Ross Finnie: Information is transferred electronically between the systems on a regular basis for disease control and public health purposes, subsidy cross checks and to support policy decisions. This process is currently being reviewed to identify improvements which can be made following the recent up-grade to the system operated by the British Cattle Movement Service.

Agriculture

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals have been made by farmers under the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure and, of these, how many have been successful in each year since 1999.

Ross Finnie: The EU Agricultural subsidies appeals procedure became operational in November 2000. The information requested is set out in the following tables. In stage 2 appeals the external panel make a recommendation to me with findings.

  Number of Appeals Lodged

  

 
Stage 1
Stage 2


2000
 17
 0


2001*
 84
 16


2002*
 271
 32


2003
 252
 45


2004
 120
 5


2005
 116
 0



  The Number of Appeals Upheld By Panel

  

 
Internal
External


2000
 0
 0


2001
 12
 1


2002
 18
 5


2003
 15
 0


2004
 4
 0



  Note: *Coverage of Agri Environment Schemes was added in June 2001. Figures in 2001 were low due to foot-and-mouth disease. This resulted in an upsurge in 2002.

  In addition some appeals were resolved outwith the panel setting.

  Stage 3 (Scottish Land Court Hearings Lodged):

  2003: 3

  2004: 2

  2005: 2.

  Decisions not yet taken for these cases, with the exception of one case settled out of court.

Agriculture

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of how effectively the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure is operating and what plans it has to improve these procedures.

Ross Finnie: The EU Agricultural appeals procedure was set up to review decisions in relation to the refusal, recovery and reduction of a producer’s EU subsidy and ensure that my officials reached the correct decision. As with initial decision taking, the procedure is constrained to work within the regulatory framework and has no scope to waive or amend legislative requirements in individual cases.

  The appeals secretariat continuously monitor how the procedure is operating. I am satisfied that the appeals panel operate within its remit and I have no plans to change it.

Agriculture

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of satisfaction with the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure on the part of (a) individuals who have gone through the appeals process and (b) the general farming community.

Ross Finnie: There has been no formal assessment of satisfaction. However, the appeals secretariat gains informal feedback by speaking to appellants who have appeared in person at a review. Most appellants have expressed satisfaction about the thoroughness of the procedure although understandably those whose appeal is rejected feel dissatisfied at the outcome.

  For the past few years, the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department has undertaken a Customer Satisfaction Survey to gauge satisfaction levels with its administration of grant and subsidy schemes. The latest survey was undertaken in February this year and early indications are that overall satisfaction levels remain very high.

Agriculture

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been made to the single farm payment national reserve and when these applications will be processed.

Ross Finnie: There have been 4,230 applications to the single farm payment national reserve. The processing of the applications has started. Where possible, the aim is to inform farmers by 16 May 2005 of the result of their application, where that has an impact on their land holding. The target is to complete the processing of the applications by 31 July 2005. This completion date has been discussed with stakeholders.

Agriculture

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NFU Scotland and other relevant organisations regarding any concerns of farmers who take on new land that would not entitle them to subsidy under the single farm payment arrangements.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive consulted with the NFU Scotland and other organisations about whether to go for a historic or area-based system of awarding entitlements after the reforms to the CAP were announced in 2003. The historic system means that subsidy is based on historic claims rather than land held. There was a consensus in favour of the historic system, which allows farmers to adjust to decoupling and avoids redistributive effects. Since then there has been consultation on the operation of the National Reserve, with the result that arrangements have been made to enable new entrants to farming during the transitional period to apply for entitlements.

Agriculture

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NFU Scotland and other relevant organisations regarding any concerns of farmers about the administration and complexity of the single farm payment national reserve application process.

Ross Finnie: There was a formal consultation period with the agricultural industry between 28 April 2004 and 21 June 2004. Subsequently, there have been regular meetings with relevant organisations in the form of the single farm payment implementation advisory group. There were also, road shows targeted at advisors, consultants and the relevant organisations in autumn 2004 and April 2005.

Cancer

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in recruiting specialist nurses to support people with cancer.

Mr Andy Kerr: Nursing People with Cancer in Scotland: A Framework, published in April 2004, sets out the strategic vision that will shape nursing services for people with cancer across NHSScotland, in all care settings and in all geographic areas.

  The planning of the workforce, including specialist cancer nurses, is primarily a matter for individual NHS boards.

  Figures to 30 September 2004 show that the total number of cancer specialist nurses in Scotland was 158.6 whole-time equivalents.

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the consequences for its budget are of the value of a person’s home being included within the financial assessment carried out by local authorities when determining the funding of an elderly person’s long-term residential care.

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the consequences to its budget would be if the value of a person’s home were to be taken out of the financial assessment carried out by local authorities when determining the funding of an elderly person’s long-term residential care.

Rhona Brankin: The information requested is not held centrally. In order to accurately estimate the financial consequences of disregarding the value of care home resident’s former homes from the financial assessment, it would be necessary to obtain detailed information on the income and capital of residents who currently only benefit from free nursing and personal care payments.

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-382 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 June 2003, whether it now has information on the number of privately-owned homes which have been sold by senior citizens to fund their residential care (a) prior to and (b) since July 2002.

Rhona Brankin: The information requested is not held centrally.

Children (Scotland) Act 1995

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Home Office to ensure compliance by the Home Office or its contractors with the terms of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Peter Peacock: Compliance with all applicable legal obligations by the Home Office is a matter for them.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments by the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care in the debate on dental health services on 21 April 2005 anent "200 extra dentists by 2008, which means 200 more than we already have" ( Official Report c. 16274), how many NHS dentists there are currently; how many there will be, counted on the same basis, by 2008, and how many dentists (a) retiring and (b) otherwise removing themselves from NHS provision have been taken into account to support the comments.

Rhona Brankin: The report Workforce Planning for Dentistry in Scotland (June 2004), estimated a shortfall of 215 general dental practitioners, based on a total of 2,614 NHS dentists. From this baseline we plan to have at least 2,814 NHS dentists by 2008 and these figures take account of joiners and leavers.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments by the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care in the debate on dental health services on 21 April 2005 anent "200 extra dentists by 2008, which means 200 more than we already have" ( Official Report c. 16274), whether the Executive's stated target that all adults will have free dental checks by 2007 will be met if there is not a net increase in dentists by 200 in 2007.

Rhona Brankin: The partnership commitment to systematically introduce free dental checks for all before 2007 will be challenging but is one we fully intend to meet.

Domestic Abuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5631 by Jackie Baillie on 28 March 2000, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the tables.

Malcolm Chisholm: In 2000-01 a total of £1,444,421 was allocated under the Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund (DASDF). £1,339,431 was awarded to 57 DASDF projects with the remaining £104,990 issued to Scottish Homes for projects requesting furnishings and fittings for refuges. The final details of DASDF funding for 2000-01 is set out in the following table:

  

DASDF 2000-01
Council/Organisation
Provision
Amount
 


Aberdeen
2 Domestic Abuse Support Workers
25,520
 


Aberdeenshire
3 p/t Outreach Workers
38,490
 


Angus
 
Domestic Abuse Officer (Barnardo's)
29,500
 


Refuge Worker (Women's Aid)
20,000
 


Argyll and Bute
Children's Worker
10,310
 


Sessional Rape Crisis Support
5,360
 


Outreach Worker - Bute
36,290
 


City of Edinburgh
Partner Work - Probation Programme
13,800
 


Development Multi-Agency Strategy
43,750
 


Rape Crisis Support
12,500
*


Shakti Women's Aid
36,140
*


DAPHNE
6,750
*


Dumfries and Galloway
Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator
46,250
 


Rape Crisis Support
3,000
*


Dundee
Outreach Training (Women's Aid)
25,720
 


Rape Crisis Training Project
14,180
*


East Ayrshire
Training Officer
22,500
 


East Dunbartonshire
Increase Women's Aid Service
38,590
 


Develop Multi-Agency Forum
18,400
 


East Renfrewshire
Develop Service/Start up Women's Aid
50,000
 


F/S/C
Partner Support Work
16,105
*


Support Worker
15,000
 


Falkirk
Abuse Prevention Worker
30,780
 


Training Co-ordinator (open Secret)
19,939
 


Fife
Improve Accessibility East Fife Women's Aid
30,290
 


Fife Domestic Abuse Forum
30,620
 


Dunfermline Women's Aid - Service Extension
18,695
 


Abuse Survivor's Project
4,054
 


Refuge Feasibility Study
5,000
*


Glasgow
Support Unit Glasgow Partnership
47,930
 


Women's Aid Worker - Easterhouse
14,700
 


Educational Resource Worker
29,000
 


Highland
Strategy Children Support outreach worker
50,000
 


Inverclyde
Outreach Worker and Zero Tolerance Worker
21,500
 


Midlothian
Support for Extra refuge spaces
30,500
 


Moray
Information/Advice worker
21,100
 


North Ayrshire
Outreach Services/Preventative Work
43,500
*


Rape Crisis Support
5,000
*


North Lanarkshire
Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator
23,000
*


Orkney Islands
Development Worker - Women's Aid
13,040
*


Perth and Kinross
Outreach Work
15,000
*


Renfrewshire
Multi-Agency Development/Work in Schools
34,530
 


Borders
Research
19,000
 


Shetland Islands
Outreach Worker and Multi-Agency Development
9,500
 


South Ayrshire
Multi-Agency Development
7,500
 


Working in Rural Areas
17,500
 


Materials For Young People
10,000
 


Additional Security
7,500
 


South Lanarkshire
Access to Services
50,000
 


Furnish 6 Properties
42,300
 


Stirling
Community Outreach (Women's aid)
22,045
 


Training Co-ordinator 
27,953
 


Rape Crisis Support
12,800
*


West Dunbartonshire
Development Worker 
30,000
 


Western Isles
Research
15,000
 


West Lothian
FMS
42,000
 


Resettlement Worker
10,000
 


Project total
 
1,339,431
 


Scottish Homes Match funding
 
104,990
 


Total Spend
 
1,444,421
 



  The projects marked with an asterisk were allocated funding after the date of the initial question (S1W-5631) and were not on the original table published under that reply.

Education

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools use the "Itchy Coo" Scots language project.

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take on the status of the Scots language in schools.

  The member has provided the following Scots translation:

  Tae speir at the Scottish Executive whit it will dae anent the status o the Scots leid at the schuil.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15708 on 26 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Education

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to local authority education departments regarding adopted children who are in the education system and their needs.

Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive has not issued guidance specifically on the education of adopted children. Local authorities have a duty to provide support after adoption to children and their families, and this could include any educational needs. The Scottish Executive’s adoption policy review group will report shortly and will make recommendations on improving arrangements for adoption support. Adopted children can access general education support in the same way as any other child.

Education

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is carried out of the educational progress of adopted children.

Euan Robson: The educational progress of adopted children is not separately monitored.

Enterprise

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will urge Grampian Country Foods, in order to avoid any compulsory redundancies, to reverse its decision to close its pork plant in Buckie.

Ross Finnie: Executive officials met the Grampian Country Food Group (GCFG) to explore whether there were any alternatives to the closure of the Buckie facility. GCFG confirmed that they had only reached this difficult decision after a full review of their pork business and that in their opinion the operation of two pork abattoirs in Scotland, which operated under full capacity, was unsustainable.

  The job losses are extremely regrettable and the Scottish Executive will work closely with the enterprise network and other agencies under our PACE arrangements to ensure all possible support is provided to those affected.

Environment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a national pesticides strategy.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no plans to issue a separate national pesticides strategy as it has been actively involved in the drafting of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs-led national strategy for the sustainable use of plant protection products. This is currently out for consultation and is a UK-wide strategy.

Environment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to legislate on the amenity use of pesticides.

Ross Finnie: All pesticides, including those used in amenity situations such as landscape, sports turf, highways and parks sectors, are subject to strict regulatory control and must be approved before they can be marketed or used in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK.

  A revised statutory Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Plant Protection Products is being prepared. The new code as well as containing the guidance currently found in the Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Pesticides on Farms and Holdings, the Green Code, will also include advice and guidance for those using Plant Protection Products in the amenity and forestry sectors.

Environment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce mandatory sprayer testing and operator registration in the use of pesticides.

Ross Finnie: Regular checking of sprayers and operators makes sense from both an environmental protection and an economic viewpoint. The farming industry’s Voluntary Initiative on Pesticides includes a National Sprayer Testing Scheme and the National Register of Sprayer Operators. As the name suggests, the Voluntary Initiative is not part of pesticide regulation as such but the Scottish Executive wishes to see the initiative succeed and has urged pesticide users to take part. In view of this we have no plans at present to introduce either mandatory sprayer testing or operator registration in the use of pesticides into Scotland.

Environment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce measures to reduce pesticide use.

Ross Finnie: There is a long-standing policy of minimising the use of pesticides in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK by encouraging farmers and others to use pesticides in ways that will have the least adverse impact. The latest development in this policy is a draft strategy for the sustainable use of plant protection products which has the overall aim of minimising the hazards and risks to the environment from the use of such products without putting necessary crop protection at risk.

Environment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into the possible health hazards associated with pesticide use.

Ross Finnie: The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) takes the UK lead in the regulation of Plant Protection Products. PSD spends around 5.7 million pounds each year on research which includes developing better ways to assess and manage risks arising from pesticide use. The Scottish Executive has not funded any research in this area.

Equine Industry

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to alter the system of equine passports.

Ross Finnie: The current system of equine passports is laid out in The Horse Passports Order 1997 which was introduced to facilitate trade in pedigree horses and the movement of horses for competition. That order will remain in force until The Horse Passports (Scotland) Regulations 2005, which was made on 21 April 2005, laid before Parliament on 22 April 2005, come into force on 16 May 2005.

  The new regulations extend the requirement for passports to all equines and provide for the recording of veterinary medicines on the passport as a safeguard against contaminated horse meat entering the human food chain.

Firearms

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reportable incidents involving airguns have occurred in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: The number of recorded crimes and offences involving airweapons and unidentified weapons in the last five years is given in the table.

  There have been changes in recording practices which have affected the number of recorded crimes and offences involving airweapons in recent years. In Strathclyde, prior to 2001, and Lothian and Borders, prior to 2002, if a weapon was not seen or seen but not established, an assumption was made about what type of weapon this was. It was usually assumed that it was an airweapon and was recorded as such in the statistical return. However, this recording practice was changed, and if a weapon was not seen or seen but not established, it is now recorded as such and no assumption is made about what the weapon was. This had the effect of decreasing the number of incidents involving an airweapon and increasing those involving an unidentified weapon.

  In 2003 Lothian and Borders police began recording details of incidents using crime reports from members of the public. The complainants may identify the firearm involved as an airweapon, based on the type of damage caused, even if they have not seen the firearm. This has led to an increase in the alleged use of airweapons and a decrease in the alleged use of unidentified firearms.

  Crimes and Offences Recorded by the Police in which an Air-Weapon of Unidentified Firearm was Alleged to have Been Used, Scotland, 1999-2003

  

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Airweapons
612
570
516
331
415


Unidentified Weapons
87
142
333
523
361

Firearms

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reportable incidents involving airguns have resulted in prosecutions in each of the last five years.

Colin Boyd QC: The information requested is not readily available in the format required and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its fisheries-related priorities are for the United Kingdom’s forthcoming presidency of the European Union and how it intends to pursue them.

Ross Finnie: Scottish Executive ministers and officials will play a full part, in both a Presidency and member state role, in the UK team working to ensure a successful Presidency that delivers our fisheries-related objectives. It is not possible to be precise at this stage as to what our specific priorities will be. These will, to a large extent, depend on what is agreed during the Luxembourg Presidency and what issues will carry over to the UK Presidency. I look forward to discussing our priorities with the Environment and Rural Development Committee in September.

G8 Summit

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-14803 and S2W-15333 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March and 13 April 2005 respectively, with which agencies from around the world it has worked directly to counter terrorism.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15333 on 13 April, 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Gaelic

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has committed for the protection and promotion of the Gaelic language in this year and the next two financial years.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive provides funding for the protection and promotion of the Gaelic language through funding for the Gaelic Media Service, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and funding for Gaelic medium education. Funding for the years 2005-06 to 2007-08 is shown in the table:

  

Year
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Gaelic Media Service
£8.5 million
£8.7 million
£8.9 million


Bòrd na Gàidhlig
£2.8 million
£4.7 million
£4.7 million


Education
£3.8 million
£4.2 million
£4.8 million


Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
£0.45 million
£0.5 million
-



  Within the Executive there are funding programmes that do not have a specific Gaelic designation, but a proportion of the funding will go to Gaelic education. Examples of this would be pre-school funding, HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) activity, National Grid for Learning, Scottish Qualifications Authority examinations, school materials, teacher training, classroom assistants and further and higher education funding.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the prevalence of osteoporosis is amongst men and women over 50.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network estimates a prevalence of osteoporosis in people over 50 as one in three women and one in twelve men.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase access to dual diagnosis programmes for those suffering from mental health illness and drug or alcohol misuse.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive published the report Mind the Gaps: Meeting the Needs of People with Co-Occurring Substance Misuse and Mental Health Problems in October 2003 .  This included advice to agencies on service, planning and quality issues. It is the responsibility of health boards and their partners to plan and provide services according to local priorities and circumstances, funded by the unified budget from the Executive to meet the health care needs of their resident population.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support all NHS boards in setting up dual diagnosis teams to treat people with alcohol or drug misuse and mental health problems.

Hugh Henry: It is the responsibility of NHS boards and their partners to plan and provide services for people with alcohol, drug and mental health problems according to local priorities and circumstances. The Scottish Executive published a report, Mind the Gaps: Meeting the Needs of People with Co-occurring Substance Misuse and Mental Health Problems in October 2003 to provide advice for agencies on service, planning and quality services.

Housing (Scotland) Bill

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Bill will apply to tied houses and tenanted crofts.

Malcolm Chisholm: The parts of the bill which relate to the tolerable standard and which allow local authorities to require owners to repair or improve sub-standard houses will apply equally to tied houses and to dwelling houses situated on crofts as they do to other houses. The same is true of the provisions relating to houses in multiple occupation, where the house meets the definition of a house in multiple occupation.

  Other provisions apply to any tenancy of a house let for human habitation except Scottish Secure Tenancies and certain other exceptions which are not relevant here. Those provisions are the landlord’s obligation to meet the repairing standard and the landlord’s obligation not to refuse unreasonably to consent to works by the tenant to make the house suitable for a disabled occupant

  Those provisions will apply to a tied house if in the individual case the terms of the contract between the employer and the employee are such that a house made available under that contract is the subject of a tenancy. Similarly, they will apply to a dwelling house on a croft if in the individual case the house itself is the subject of a tenancy.

  The tenant of a croft is to be treated in the same way as an owner for the purpose of the scheme of assistance for housing purposes, subject to provisions avoiding duplication of assistance under the bill and compensation under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. The eligibility of a tenant of a tied house for grant or loan will be the same as that for other tenants in terms of section 89 of the bill.

Information Technology

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision has been made in respect of which company or companies will provide the completion of access to broadband to rural areas and whether it will publish the terms of any tender awarded for provision of these services and the costs involved.

Nicol Stephen: A contract was signed on 15 April with BT for the provision of broadband services in 378 exchange areas in Scotland.

  An award notice will be published on the website of the Official Journal of the European Communities which will include details of the terms of the contract, including the costs. For information, the public sector is contributing £16.5 million of the total project value of about £30 million.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on the continued use of voluntary personnel as Justices of the Peace in district courts.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the continued use of Justices of the Peace in district courts represents value for money.

Cathy Jamieson: On 22 March this year, the Executive published Smarter Justice, Safer Communities . Summary Justice Reform, Next Steps, our package of reform to improve summary justice and ensure it delivers value for money. It made clear that we are committed to the principle of lay involvement in the justice system and believe that lay justices have an important role to play in an improved system. We will invest in the recruitment, training and appraisal of lay justices in order to ensure a consistently high standard across Scotland.

  Smarter Justice, Safer Communities is available on the Executive’s website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/about/JD/CP/00019008/Homepage.aspx.

Lifelong Learning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is working with trade unions to encourage workplace learning.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive recognises the important role that unions play in workplace learning. Since 2000 we have committed £3.3 million to 54 projects under the Scottish Union Learning Fund, a scheme specifically designed to encourage workplace learning by trade unions and their partners. We are committing a further £1.6 million to the fund over 2006 to 2008.

  I am pleased to announce today that we have agreed an extra £1.4 million over the next three years to enable the STUC and unions to develop further the union learning agenda in Scotland in parallel with the learning academy proposed for England and Wales.

Local Government Finance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made by the independent Local Government Finance Review committee.

Mr Tom McCabe: I understand that the committee is making good progress, in line with the timetable set out on its website. The committee is of course independent. Its target remains to report by summer 2006.

Marine Environment

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take on marine environment issues following the publication of Charting progress: an integrated assessment of the state of UK seas .

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how Charting progress: an integrated assessment of the state of UK seas will be used in the process of developing a strategic framework for the marine environment.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive was fully involved in producing Charting Progress through scientific contributions from the Fisheries Research Services. I intend to use the report to help develop appropriate base-lines from which to monitor improvements in Scotland’s marine environment. The scale of any such improvements and the measures needed to secure them will be important considerations as I take forward the development of a new marine strategy for Scotland. I hope to make an announcement about that soon.

Mental Health

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support people moving from long-stay mental health hospitals into the community.

Rhona Brankin: We are working with the agencies to provide comprehensive single shared assessments of need are applied in each case to identify the supports and services necessary to maintain the individual successfully in a community setting. This will include an assessment of risk.

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibility the European Union places on the Executive to ensure that there is a legislative framework for the diagnosis and treatment of any form of mental illness and what directives apply in this respect.

Rhona Brankin: There are no European Union Directives which place responsibilities on the Executive to ensure that there is a legislative framework for the diagnosis and treatment of any form of mental illness.

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research will be undertaken by further and higher education institutions to develop appropriate procedures to implement the provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned and is not planning to commission any research from further and higher education institutions to develop appropriate procedures to implement the provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. The Scottish Executive has a draft research strategy for the act and is appointing a researcher to take this forward.

Nursing

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements can be made to manage the use of nursing banks more efficiently and reduce the need for agency nurses.

Mr Andy Kerr: I issued a Report and Action Plan on Nationally Co-ordinated Nurse Bank Arrangements on 7 March. The report contains a number of recommendations to improve the efficiency of nurse banks and cut the cost of agency nursing which are being taken forward by NHSScotland, monitored by the Scottish Executive Health Department. Funding of £500,000 has been released to NHS boards to assist in the delivery of the recommendations.

Oil and Gas Industry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to address the shortage of skills in the oil and gas industry.

Allan Wilson: The Executive is committed to addressing skills issues within the sector in close partnership with all key stakeholders.

  We are contributing to the work that PILOT, the government and industry taskforce for the oil and gas industry, is undertaking to develop a cohesive framework for collective action to attract, retain and encourage skills development within the industry.

  The Executive is closely involved in the UK development of the various Sector Skills Councils. Cogent, the Sector Skills Council for the UK’s Oil, Gas and Polymer industries, have recently commenced Stage One of their Sector Skills Agreement (SSA). This is a sophisticated assessment of their sectors’ long, medium and short-term skills needs and the mapping of the drivers of change.

  The Enterprise Network are also involved in a number of initiatives which assist the oil and gas sector.

  In addition, the Fresh Talent initiative announced by the First Minister will bring talented, hard working people who can make a positive contribution to both the oil and gas sector and the Scottish economy.

People with Disabilities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reduce poverty among the 42% of all households with a disabled person which have an income of £10,000 or less per annum.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive believes that employment is the best route out of poverty for the vast majority of people, and that meaningful employment allows people to sustain themselves and their families in a lifestyle free from poverty. That is why the Executive’s new Closing the Opportunity Gap approach puts employability at the very heart of the Executive’s efforts to tackle poverty and disadvantage.

  However, we fully appreciate that disabled people and their families, like other vulnerable groups in society, can face particularly significant barriers to accessing employment. That is why we are developing an Employability Framework that aims to improve the co-ordination of services that can improve the employment prospects of those in our society facing the greatest barriers to employment, including disabled people. Indeed the proportion of people with a disability in employment in Scotland increased by 10% between February 1999 and February 2004.

People with Disabilities

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend free personal care to disabled people under 65 and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Rhona Brankin: We have no plans to extend the free personal care policy to disabled people under 65. After three years in force, our immediate aim is to evaluate the existing policy, on which we are about to commission research.

Prison Service

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any experts in the justice system on nutrition and behavioural problems.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  No. The SPS takes advice from a variety of sources on nutrition and behavioural problems. The SPS is establishing a Good Food Group that will seek relevant expertise and take all nutritional matters into account.

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost of each daily meal per prisoner is in each prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is not available.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what notices it has received under paragraph 6.8 of Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock and on what dates since the start of the prison’s operation.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Notices were received on 19 April 2002; 30 January 2003; 29 January 2004.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what performance points were accrued by the operating company of HM Prison Kilmarnock, broken down for each heading and subsection in Schedule F to Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock , in each quarter of the prison's operation.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is given in a table entitled Performance Points Accrued by HMP Kilmarnock, a copy of which can be found in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 36304).

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the quarterly baseline total was, as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule F to Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock , in each quarter since the prison opened.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-1869 on 9 September 2003, which details the baseline totals for HM Prison Kilmarnock from year one, quarter one to year five, quarter one.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search. Baseline totals for year five, quarter two to year six, quarter four are as follows:

  

Performance Year
Performance Quarter
Baseline


Year Five
2
665


3
665


4
665


Year Six
1
632


2
632


3
632


4
632

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34415 by Mr Jim Wallace on 31 March 2003, what figures are available in respect of assaults at HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Figures are available for prisoner on prisoner and prisoner on staff assaults; these are published in the Scottish Prison Service’s Annual Report.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates a written notice has been served under section 34.1 of Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock requiring the contractor to provide additional prisoner places; how many places have been required, and what period of notice was given in each case.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  

Date of Request
Additional Places Required
Notice Period Given
Duration


21 June 2000
48
1 Month
5 Months


13 November 2000
48
1 Month
Extension for 3 Months


26 February 2001
48
1 Month
Extension for 3 Months


31 May 2001
48
1 Month
Extension for 3 Months


7 September 2001
48
1 Day
Extension for 3 Months


5 December 2001
48
3 Days
Extension for 6 Months


29 May 2002
48
10 Days
Extension for 6 Months


1 November 2002
48
1 Month
Extension for 1 Month


1 November 2002
*192
3 Months
1 Year


7 February 2003
96
**None
1 Year


17 December 2003
96
2 Months
1 Year


31 December 2004
96
2 Months
1 Year



  Notes:

  *An initial request was made for 192 additional prisoner places to be made available with SPS intention to utilise 96 of those places. To date SPS has not chosen to exercise the option for utilisation of the remaining 96 additional prisoner places.

  **KPSL had stated that 596 prisoner places would be provided with effect from  1 February 2003.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by prison of the prison discipline offences and punishments figures contained in the table in Appendix 6 of Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2003-04 and whether it will provide a similar breakdown for 2004-05.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information for 2003-04, has been placed in the Parliament’s reference Centre (Bib. number 36286). The information for 2004-05 is not yet available.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-281 by Mr Andy Kerr on 4 June 2003, whether it has sought legal advice on whether designation of operators of existing PPP schools as public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 would constitute either a discriminatory change of law or a specific change of law, as defined in the Scottish Schools Standard PPP Contract.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has not sought legal advice on this issue.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken since the passing of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to monitor clauses in PPP contracts that would place additional costs on the public authority if the contractor was designated under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive monitors PPP contracts routinely as part of its policies on standardisation of PPP procurement terms but no specific assessment has been made of the cost implications of provisions in the contracts relating to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken since the passing of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to monitor clauses in PPP contracts that create a duty of confidentiality between the parties exempting information from being provided in answer to a request for it under section 36(2) of the act.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive Financial Partnerships Unit monitors PPP contracts routinely as part of its polices on standardisation of PPP procurement terms but no specific monitoring of confidentiality clauses has been undertaken. The unit has discussed the implications of the Freedom of Information Act 2002 with commercial and public sector legal advisers who support such procurements and with HM Treasury and PartnershipsUK, who have a similar interest relating to PPP contracts elsewhere in the UK. These discussions led some time ago to incorporation of wording relating to the 2002 act in PPP contracts.

  Further, guidance issued in December 2004 by the Scottish Procurement Directorate advises that the conditions of any public sector procurement should clearly explain that information provided to the public body by the bidder may be subject to disclosure under the act. PPP terms are consistent with that guidance. These terms will be kept under review as practice under the act develops.

Public Private Partnerships

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14552 by Mr Tom McCabe on 17 March 2005, what its estimate is of the amount of public funding required to finance PPP projects in each year from 2019-20 to 2034-35.

Mr Tom McCabe: The estimated annual expenditure to service PPP projects, in the form of a unitary charge (comprising capital, lifecycle maintenance and services), undertaken by public sector bodies over the period requested is shown in the following table. These figures will increase as more projects become operational.

  Existing Deals (Operational and Signed): Total Estimated Service Payments (in cash Terms)

  

Year
Amount
(£ Million)


2019-20
558.2


2020-21
566.3


2021-22
560.9


2022-23
552.4


2023-24
552.9


2024-25
546.8


2025-26
524.5


2026-27
471.5


2027-28
371.0


2028-29
312.7


2029-30
252.5


2030-31
139.6


2031-32
98.3


2032-33
77.8


2033-34
60.7


2034-35
62.4

Scottish Executive Advertising

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S1W-27518 by Mr Andy Kerr on 13 August 2002, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the tables.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-2481 on 22 September 2003 which details spend for 2002-03. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search .

  The information remains the same for the period 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all contracts and assignations between it and other parties should be signed and dated.

Mr Tom McCabe: It is standard practice for Scottish Executive contracts to be in writing and to be signed and dated.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is common practice for officials or ministers to leave unsigned and undated any contracts, assignations or other documentation which support a formal relationship between it and another party.

Mr Tom McCabe: No, it is not common practice.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any contracts or assignations setting out the nature of a relationship between the Scottish Office or Scottish Executive and another party remaining undated and unsigned when they came into force.

Mr Tom McCabe: Research has identified only one instance where a contract between the Scottish ministers and Thunderchief Pictures Limited was unsigned but proceeded on the basis of a draft contract issued by the Scottish Executive. There may of course be other circumstances in which signing is delayed, perhaps due to disagreements between the parties, on the detail and/or interpretation of the contract.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it would be regarded as good practice to leave unsigned and undated any contracts or assignations setting out the nature of a relationship between it and another party.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive does not regard leaving contracts unsigned and undated as good practice. Occasionally, however, circumstances arise in which signing is delayed, perhaps due to disagreements between the parties on the detail and/or interpretation of the contract. The fact that a contract may be unsigned or undated may not necessarily mean it is legally invalid.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any examples of a Scottish Executive or Scottish Office contract or assignation with another party which was unsigned and undated at the time of coming into force invalidating the terms of the contract or assignation and, if so, which contracts or assignations.

Mr Tom McCabe: Research has not identified any such examples.

Teachers

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14461 by Mr Jack McConnell on 15 May 2001, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the table.

Peter Peacock: There is no need to publish an updated version. The information is correct and the figures are given in full-time equivalent terms and apparent discrepancies result from rounding up or down in both the data and the totals.

  The 2004 Teacher Census provides an update of this information on teachers in publicly funded primary schools. Again the data in tables may not sum to the totals because of rounding. The 2004 Census publication can be accessed using the following hyperlink: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/25165316/53178.

Telecommunications

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations have been made into any concerns expressed in respect of linkage between incidences of ill-health in Fife and the operation of TETRA masts in the area.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive is aware of the allegations of ill-health in proximity of the TETRA mast at Drumcarrow, Fife. The issue has been raised in both the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments, and highlighted in the media.

  In keeping with the normal approach to local health concerns this issue is being addressed by the local NHS board. We are advised that the Director of Public Health, NHS Fife has set up an Environmental Hazard Investigation Team with a remit to look at allegations of ill-health in the Drumcarrow area of north east Fife. This team includes representation from the public health department, councillors, community councillors, local pressure groups, Health Protection Scotland (formerly SCIEH), Fife Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

  A separate technical sub-group of the Environmental Hazard Investigation Team has been collating information provided by local community councils and residents in the Drumcarrow area and has also examined available health statistics relevant to the alleged ill-health in the area. A report has been prepared by the sub-group which is due to be considered at the next meeting of the Environmental Hazard Investigation Team.

Waste Management

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15446 by Ross Finnie on 30 March 2005, whether vehicles registered on the Northern Ireland register can operate legitimately as waste carriers in Great Britain, including in Scotland.

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether waste carriers that are not registered as such in Great Britain or Northern Ireland can operate legitimately as waste carriers in Great Britain, including in Scotland.

Ross Finnie: It is an offence under section 1(1) of the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 (the "1989 Act") to transport controlled waste to or from any place in Great Britain unless registered as a carrier of controlled waste in accordance with the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991. Section 1(2)(b) of the 1989 act does, however, provide that no offence is committed in respect of the transportation of controlled waste originating from outwith Great Britain (including, for example, Northern Ireland) to its first destination within Great Britain.

Waste Management

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of any waste from the Republic of Ireland being dumped in landfill sites in Scotland.

Ross Finnie: Regulation of landfill sites and policing of waste shipments are operational matters for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency assisted, where necessary, by the police.

Waste Management

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the dumping of waste from the Republic of Ireland in Scottish landfill sites is legal.

Ross Finnie: Waste from the Republic of Ireland may legally be landfilled in Scotland if the requirements of the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 1994 and the European Waste Shipment Regulation (259/93) are met, as well as all Scottish legislation relating to the landfill of the kind of wastes in question.